One More Than You'll Ever Have: A Naruto Fanfic
by Lover of Stories 24
Summary: A oneshot starring Shikamaru and Chouji, and NOT as a pairing. Chouji is getting beaten up by some idiots who like picking on him, but Shika saves him. I suck at summaries, but whatever. You know you want to click on it! XD


"Hey, look, it's Chouji!"

The boys laughed, maneuvering themselves so that their bodies formed a tight circle surrounding their victim, a circle he could not hope to escape. Their laughter rang in his ears, over and over again, like music that ran in a loop, repeatedly playing itself until its source was turned off. Except that, in this case, there was no "off" button.

The Akimichi was quiet, his head bowed, feeling that this was his fate: to always be the odd one out, the one everyone picked on, the one who would never have anyone who cared enough to defend him from this sort of treatment. His lips trembled, but he kept them pressed together, to prevent any sound from escaping his mouth.

The first blow came, a solid swing from the ringleader's fist, connecting with Chouji's stomach with a resounding crack. His knees buckled, and before long he had collapsed. But there was more to come. It was followed by another, and another, and then some more, leaving him lying on the cold ground, curling up into a fetal position as their attacks rained down.

Chouji closed his eyes to block out their leering faces, dropping a veil over the outside world. He braced himself for the impact, but even then, each time he was struck hurt more than the last. _You are stone_, he tried to convince himself. _You cannot cry. You cannot feel pain._

A booted foot slammed down against his back, enveloping him in pain. It rose and fell with an irregular rhythm, determined to smash through his flesh.

Chouji gritted his teeth. _Just hang on. Eventually they'll have to get bored of this...right?_

But it seemed he was wrong.

"Cry already!" Blanc yelled, hurling a jagged-edged rock at his target. His aim was accurate - it would have been sad if it wasn't, considering how close he was, and the rock collided with Chouji's left cheekbone before bouncing off, leaving behind an ugly mark that ran hot with blood.

Chouji's hand slowly reached for his cheek, his fingers cradling the broken skin. _You are stone_, he mentally repeated. _You cannot cry._ And no tears came.

"Cry, teme!" Blanc snarled, swiping down his fist to release another rock.

_You are stone._

Chouji lay motionless, waiting for the collision that had yet to come. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes to find himself looking at Shikamaru's face. "Shika...maru..." he breathed in surprise.

The young Nara stood over his friend's prostrate form, the rock intended for Chouji resting in his palm. "Hey," he said, cracking a smile as if he did this every day. "Having me save your butt is cool and all, but it's starting to become a drag."

Chouji smiled back, knowing that this was only, in fact, the first time Shikamaru had come to his rescue. His eyes started to tear up, something he could honestly say hadn't happened in quite some time. _You don't have to...be stone anymore..._

Blanc scowled. "Sure, now he cries." He turned to glare at Shikamaru. "What are you doing here, Nara?"

"I thought it was obvious," Shikamaru replied evenly, helping Chouji to his feet. "Troublesome as it is, I'm protecting my slightly chubby friend from the likes of you." His eyes were dark, narrowed slits.

Blanc's glare intensified. Then he put on a patronizing smile. "Slightly chubby?" he guffawed, holding his arms against his sides. "Looks like you finally found a friend, Chouji." His lip curled in a sneer. "Too bad your friendship has to end so soon."

Shikamaru yawned. "Nice story. Is it over yet?"

"Not quite," Blanc replied, a self-satisfied smirk drawing across his face. "This one's a tragedy. Our...heroes..." His lip curled at the word. "...haven't been eliminated yet."

Shikamaru brought his hands together in a well-known position, at least, well-known to the Nara clan. "Shadow control jutsu."

Blanc blanched as he tried to rush at the dark-haired nuisance, for his body would not respond to his brain's commands. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead. _So this is...the power of the Nara..._ His hand moved out against his will to lock in a stranglehold around the neck of one of his cronies. When his eyes darted to Shikamaru, he found the Nara was doing the same with his hand - to the air. A shadow stretched out across the ground between them, connecting them by their feet.

"Blanc! Stop it!" Raushod choked, trying to wriggle free of the other boy's grasp. His face was rapidly turning blue.

Shikamaru opened his hand and brought it back to his side, causing Blanc to do the same. "How long do you want to play this game?" he asked. "It's becoming a bore."

Blanc considered his options, and eventually answered. "We can stop now," he said, his voice faltering. "Just...leave us alone."

Shikamaru released the jutsu. "You are dismissed."

Blanc motioned to his followers. "Let's go."

"Cowards," Shikamaru muttered as they left. "Chouji, you need to grow a backbone. Why do you let them pick on you like that?"

"I can't fight back," Chouji whispered, ashamed of himself. "There's too many of them. I'm not as good a ninja as you, Shikamaru." His eyes suddenly widened. "Behind you!"

Shikamaru spun around, deftly blocking a swing from his attacker. "Scum," he growled, flinging Blanc backwards into the brick wall of a nearby building. "Did you really think I wouldn't be able to block an attack like that?"

Blanc spat out a mouthful of blood. "How could this happen!?" He graciously added a couple expletives.

Chouji glared at him, mind now resolute. "I'm done with you, Blanc. I'm not going to let you treat me like I'm inferior. Not any longer."

Blanc just laughed. "That's only because of him." He looked accusingly at Shikamaru. "Without your friend, you'd be nothing."

"That's one more than you'll ever have," Shikamaru murmured.

"Excuse me?" Blanc looked as if he had just been slapped in the face.

"You heard me," Shikamaru replied. "You have no friends. You have 'companions,' yes. You have followers. But they're not your friends. They'd betray you if the rewards were high enough." He turned to the Akimichi standing at his side. "Chouji, do the honors."

Chouji picked up a rock and shifted it in his fingers, testing its weight and balance. He drew back his hand. "Cry, teme."

Blanc huddled against the wall, his eyes shut. Nothing happened. When he finally opened his eyes, he saw Chouji and Shikamaru walking away. Their backs were turned to him, an open invitation. But then he thought better of it. After all, he'd already suffered enough humiliation for one day.

**Author Notes:** This is NOT Chouji _x_ Shikamaru, just so you know. I find that disturbing. -gags- And Chouji's cool. So yah. By the way, I came up with Blanc's name because I was using an actual blank for his name at first. A blank, like this: , since I couldn't come up with a name for him. Then I decided to make it Blanc, since it sounds like "blank!" Clever, right? XD I bet you don't even care...Lolz.


End file.
